


A Simple Life

by Merenos



Category: Fallout (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:33:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26334946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merenos/pseuds/Merenos
Summary: In the wasteland nothing is certain but war. One man searches for a simple life.
Kudos: 1





	A Simple Life

A Simple Life  
By Merenos   
A Fallout Story

So I hadn't been in the area long, but I knew something was up. Eyebots were floating all over the place spewing old world propaganda like it was 2065. I was trying to do my best to stay out of trouble, but let me tell ya', that's hard to do in the waste sometimes.  
I sidled up to the bar and a ghoulish fellow greeted me with his raspy voice.  
"hey, uh, what can I get you?." He had the sickly sweet smell of rotting flesh. I was absolutely repulsed of course, but the road had been long coming east.  
"some whiskey," I replied, dropping some caps on the counter, "and perhaps some of the local news. Anyone looking for an extra hand?" I asked.  
"Uhh, I'm not sure I'm the best to ask about that." he told me as he pulled a bottle off the rickety shelves behind them, he placed a glass before me and filled it a few fingers widths. " I know Old Lady Fulton down by Springvale was looking for a helping hand, but it's dangerous."  
"Dangerous?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "Dangerous how?"  
"there are some green skinned mutants coming from the west and there are more and more raiders these days."  
"I see" I replied before downing my drink and gesturing for more. "I am no stranger to danger, thanks. Ohh and I'll take the rest of the bottle too." I said, placing more caps on the table.  
"Ok" the ghoul shrugged, "what's your name stranger?" he asked.  
"Allistair Dorne." I say carefully.  
"Ok, if anyone is looking for help I'll pass on your looking."  
"Thanks, and your name was?"  
"Sorry! I'm Gob, welcome to Megaton."

I walked out of the saloon and stepped out onto the balcony, the clouds overhead were orange with the promise of radioactive rain.  
I continued around the back and took the winding dirt path through the small town. I passed an insane preacher praying to the nuke in the center of town and shook my head.   
Is this what humanity really has come to? I thought. Back west. . .  
But I don't want to think about my past as I leave through the large squealing front gate. This town was a wreck. I felt so much safer outside its walls as I walked up the road passing by the remnants of old houses.

As I walked lugging my old sack, I heard a scrabbling sound. My old training kicked in and I lashed out with my fist shattering the skull of a mole rat. I ducked as another leaped at me, grabbed it with my other hand and dropped back on top of it, my bulk crushing its ribs. The third was a little more wary though, it waited for an opening and pounced once I was distracted with snapping the neck of it's pack mate. I almost didn't catch it in time, almost.  
Unluckily for it, almost only counts in horseshoes, and mini nukes.  
I used my elbow to shove it away from my neck then punched it on the side of it's jaw. It gave a soft whine and backed up before charging me again, but this time I had my feet under me.  
I sidestepped and grabbed it using its momentum and my own to drive it face first into the dirt.  
As the dust settled I brushed myself off and picked up my sack.  
I guess I could have used my old combat knife, but forgot it in the moment, my training must be slipping, a terrible thing for an old. . . but I digress.

Finally I arrived at old Lady Fulton's place and I was surprised to find that she didn't look half as old as the name suggested.  
"Well? What are you here for?" The woman who seemed to be in her early 40's questioned me.  
"Sorry ma'am, I was told that there was a Lady Fulton who was looking for some help?" I trailed off and she stopped sweeping to look me over as if judging the weight of a brahman.  
"I could use some help, I'm not paying much." She gave me another hard glare.  
"Ma'am, I'm a simple man. I just need a safe place to roll out my mat at night and some food to keep me going. Not much is good enough for me."  
"Hmmph," the woman grunted, staring at me warily. "There's a shovel around back, I could use a garden back there. no funny business now."  
I gave her a slight nod and circled around back.   
The back of the house had concrete and rubble covering the dirt, I spent hours moving them so I could turn the soil. As I worked, Lady Fulton brought me refreshments.

"You hoo, Miss Fulton!" I heard a voice holler from the front of the house.  
Lady Fulton's knuckles went white against the plate she held.  
I watched her go into the back door and decided to see who her visitor was myself. I circled around the side quietly and peered out around the corner.  
I saw three rough looking men wearing metal scraps with spike and old welding gear as armor.  
I had seen their type many times before. *raiders*  
I heard the front door open.  
"What do you want Grimes?" I heard Lady Fulton call out.  
"We just want money you owe us for your protection." A small slimy looking man replied. "Poor ol' Thomas is getting worried about your safety without us being around to protect you."  
"I don't need your protection, nor will you extort any caps from me." I heard the sound of the action being worked on a shotgun. "Now get back to your master before he has three less dogs to worry about."  
"Well boys, sounds like she isn't going to pay us." The grimy looking leader said. "You know, I have to wonder if you even have shells for that." He continued, his hand reaching towards the pistol at his side.  
As things seemed serious I decided to circle a little more, I used the remains of a fence and even a mailbox to get as close as I could.  
I was hoping Lady Fulton did have shells despite the raider’s taunt.  
They started to move forward towards the house and I decided to strike. I rammed the edge of my shovel into the side of the nearest raiders head and heard the bang of a 10mm pistol. The slimy raider was focusing with lady fulton but the other was reaching towards his sidearm.  
I lunged, my old knee protesting, but I managed to whack his hand away from his gun and caught him beneath the chin with my back swing.  
He stumbled back choking and I turned to find lady fulton and slimy fighting over the shotgun.  
Slimy didn't even notice me walk up behind him until I rammed the flat of the shovel against the back of his head.

"Thanks" Lady Fulton said as she pushed the slimy raider off her front porch. "Perhaps I misjudged you, you were quite heroic."  
I felt like she was weighing me against some image in her mind. I gave a nervous laugh. "Heh, I am no hero ma'am. I'm just a man trying to find a way to settle down and live a simple life."  
She stared at me. I could feel her gaze crawling across my scars. "You've seen a lot of fighting in your life haven't you." She almost whispered.   
"I don't like to fight ma'am"  
"You definitely are good at it. Good in a way that marks experience." She looked suspicious.  
I sighed and decided to give her just enough to satisfy her. "I was part of an army back west, I not only learned to fight but was a drill sergeant and taught others to fight too. After a while, stuff happened and I felt like it was time for a change, time to retire and settle down. I've fought all my life, now I just want to find a place I can build something instead."  
The silence hung in the air. I didn't know whether this inscrutable woman was going to throw me out or bake me a pie.  
She turned away and started rummaging through the drawers holding the shotgun. I decided to ask a question that had been bugging me.  
"Why didn't you shoot them? I'm sure you could have taken all three of those punks out with that shotgun."  
"I tried," she replied, tossing a shell at me. "Something was wrong with my shell. I pulled the trigger but when nothing happened Grimes was able to get too close. I'm lucky you were here today."  
"And now I have a bigger problem" lady fulton continued. "Grimes was one of Tork's men, and when Grimes doesn't report back he will send all his men to make an example.  
"And if he did report back?" I asked  
"Then they'll be here that much sooner."  
I had the inklings of a plan begin.  
"What if I take care of this? I think I have a solution." I suggested coolly.  
"What do you plan to do?" Lady Fulton asked me.  
"I plan to pay our friends a visit when slimy wakes up." I responded, opening my satchel. I tried to pack light when I decided to go east so what I was looking for was not hard to find, an antique gauss pistol.  
Lady Fulton's eyes widened at the sight of my weapon.  
"Do. . . How do you afford rounds for that?" She asked in hushed tones as I made sure the mag was full.  
"I don't, I save them." I replied. After checking a few other pieces of equipment I decided it was time to wake up our guest tied out front.

"W-W-wha?" He sputtered trying to shake the water off of himself.  
"We gave you some sleep and a bath, time to pay up." I said sarcastically.   
"From his smell I would swear that was the first he has had in his life!" Lady Fulton mocked.  
"What? What is the meaning of this? He tried to bring his hands forward and was startled as they resisted.  
"What?" He cried again. "Tork will have your head!!  
I squatted behind him.  
"Maybe, but I'm kind of attached to my head, my doctor says it is a congenital condition, and so I think I'll want to keep it. And how I see it you have two choices, you can help me keep it or not."  
"Help you? Hah! Like I'd help some dirt grubbing wastelander!"  
I cocked my gauss pistol.  
"Well the way I see it, if you're not going to help then I don't need you, do I? Besides you haven't even heard my plan."  
Grimes gulped "w-what plan?"  
"Well!" I said as cheerfully as I could. "This is an opportunity for you!"  
"It is?" Grimes replied.  
"of course! You seem like a competent fellow, who takes charge when Tork is gone?"  
"well that would be Yuri. . ."  
"and when Yuri is gone?" I interrupted.  
"then it would be Ace"  
"and if Ace was gone." I continued, getting tired of this.  
"Well I don't know, I guess I. . ."   
I waited as comprehension dawned on him.  
"So you want to off them and make me in charge?" he asked suspiciously.  
"I want you to get me close enough to, then you promise to leave the lady and me alone."  
"There's no way you can kill all three of them. They'll kill you then kill me!"  
"and if you don't then I kill you. I'm sure you are smart enough to see how unprofitable that would be. So, die now, or maybe profit later?" I asked sweetly.  
"Ok, you convinced me." he said slowly, though I could see hesitation in his eyes..  
"Good! I just need you to tell me where we are going and what Tork, Yuri and Ace look like before I untie you."  
After memorizing every detail I could from Grime's description we set out towards the old Springville schoolhouse not a mile away.

As we approached the structure I was feeling exposed as raider after raider watched us. I was wishing for my old power armor as we were stopped at the front door.  
"Grimes! Who the hell is this old geezer! And where is Rip and George?"  
Grimes looked around nervously, raiders started to walk towards us curiously.  
"He, ahh, he said he wants to join."  
The raider at the door looked at him doubtfully.   
"This old pile of shit doesn't look like he has. . . " he stopped and started to choke as I lifted him up with one hand. Damn, my muscles were straining but I'd be damned if I let him go.  
"Listen here mo-ron!" I yelled, almost feeling like I was on the old training field twenty years younger. "I've trained maggots who are so far above you that you couldn't reach them to wipe their asses! You think you are tough? I've made actual tough men cry and piss their pants! To me you are just a boy that needs to learn a lesson!" I dropped him to the ground, my arm aching at the strain. The raiders around us were reaching for their weapons.  
"He- he'll do." The raider I just dropped choked at us, raising a hand to get the others to stand down. "Tork will want to see you and judge for himself, but welcome to the gang." He said, massaging his throat.

As we walked in the dust hanged in the air, the smell of chalk and rot pervaded the building as we walked past some old lockers.  
We passed an improvised cell made from rebar bars as another raider nodded us towards the stairs.  
I felt my chest tighten in excitement as we headed upstairs. We finally got to a room where tork had his throne. It was a tall modified pre-war chair draped with red cloth.  
I saw several raiders in the room but two were noticeably prominent. One raider stood to the side of tork's throne examining a table of weapons nearby, his hair was spiked into a mohawk, and his armor was a mishmash of street signs and leather. The bits of skin he had exposed were covered in upraised and scarred tattoos, simple tally marks, not much more.  
Tork himself was very different, his hair was a careful flat top, his armor looked like pre war combat armor and his bearing was disciplined, I would even say military.  
"Grimes, why have you brought this man to me?" Tork asked. His voice was quiet, almost polite, and the opposite of what I had expected.

Grimes swallowed audibly. "Well Tork, he wants to join the gang."  
Tork put his hand to his face exasperatedly. "How many times do I have to say it" His voice was dangerously quiet as he began, as he spoke he picked up a small pistol from a table next to his throne and polished it with his hands. "We are not a gang, Grimes. We are so much more. We are a militia, we protect people."  
He pulled back the slide on the pistol, cocking it. "We are not a Gang, we are the only defense that people have from dangerous men, that's why they pay us." He seemed to have a glint in his eye as he rested his arms back down on the chair. The pistol, seemingly forgotten, yet now idly pointing our way.  
"I -uhh- of course boss." Grimes stammered.  
"Then tell me, Grimes. why have you brought this man before me instead of the people's payment for our services?"  
"Well, they. . . I. . ." Grimes stammered.  
I decided that if I was going to do anything I'd have to do it now.  
I dived to the side grabbing one of the raiders to the side.  
I felt him twitch as a bullet slammed into him.  
Gunfire erupted in the room.  
I took his gun and used his body as a shield, praying that none of the rounds the raiders were firing would get through.  
I used the piece of crap 9mm my shield was carrying to carefully cap raider after raider.  
Then it was too silent.  
I felt the adrenaline drain from me and I felt exhausted as I looked over the carnage.  
Grimes was bleeding from a dozen wounds at least.  
Bodies of raiders were scattered.  
But nowhere was Tork, and no where did I see the one with the mohawk.

Then my head exploded into stars, I reeled as I saw Mr Mohawk charge at me again, he had wrapped a chain around his hands and what I can only call unadulterated madness shone in his eyes.  
I dodged his fist but he brought his forearm across my face, the chain cutting into my ear as he pulled it back.  
"Great" I groaned aloud, I couldn’t hear myself over the ringing.  
I was prepared for his next punch and used his own momentum against him, flipping him behind me.  
The table of weapons broke his fall and he was up faster than a snake.  
Then he smiled.  
"I'm going to enjoy this." He told me softly.

I barely was able to duck and roll as he whipped a machete at my face.  
He charged at me and I stepped inside his swing, wrestling for the blade.  
His breath smelled of whiskey, my hands aching as I fought to break his hold.  
He headbutted me and I reeled, my left arm bleeding from his swing.  
“Do you like it?” He asked me, circling around with a mad gleam in his eye. “Do you like the sight of your own blood?” he taunted.  
I tried to search for an advantage, my old bones aching under the strain.  
Then I saw it.  
“How do you like the sight of your blood?” I taunted back.  
As he charged again I dived for the pistol, I felt the swoosh of the blade behind me as I grabbed it, aimed and pulled the trigger.  
*Click*  
“Awww shit. . .” I moaned.  
Out of sheer desperation I flipped the pistol around and blocked the machete with the underside of the barrel.  
Both my opponent and I were shocked that it worked. The machete cut deep into the pistol, but I was alive.  
I kicked out, doubling him over as I scrambled over the fallen corpses towards the broken table.  
I needed something, anything.  
My eye caught on something small, but it would do.  
I stooped down and hid it at my side.  
I would get only one chance.

“You fight pretty good for a bleeder!” The crazed raider called after me.  
There was no longer any sanity in his eyes.  
“Are you ready to die like good meat?” he said.  
I shuddered at the implications his words brought to mind as I watched him stalk me getting closer with that machete.  
I noticed a notch where it had hit the pistol.  
The raider charged, but I was ready.  
I yanked the pin out of the frag grenade I had found, dodging behind the table.  
I'm not sure the raider even noticed as his body was perforated by shards.  
My ears were ringing yet again as I looked over the room.  
Blood soaked the floors. It always seems to end in blood. Just like everywhere else, just like Navarro.  
I shook myself and gathered what supplies I could.  
I may have crippled the raiders, but their leader, this damn maggot named Torc was still out there, and I had a bad feeling about where he went.  
I managed to find an assault rifle on the floor, it only had five rounds but I was hoping that would be enough. I grabbed my pack off the floor and checked the contents.. Luckily my Gauss pistol seemed unharmed. I decided to wear it on my side since I could have used it back against mohawk boy.  
I also grabbed the machete, I figured a good blade could come in handy. I used it as a crutch and limped out towards Lady Fulton’s house.

I don't know what I expected to find.  
I guess I was hoping that I could catch up with them but I know that was unrealistic. I heard the gunfire down the road.  
I heard it stop.  
I was pushing myself as hard as I could but there were minutes of awful silence.  
Were they even still there?  
As I rounded the street I heard the crack of a rifle. A sharp wet pain erupted from my shoulder as I threw myself to the ground.  
They had been waiting for me.  
I crawled behind cover as I heard a bolt being pulled back.  
I calculated my odds, they were slim. I was wounded and under equipped and outgunned.  
I leveraged the assault rifle over and wished once more for my old power armor.  
I grabbed my pack figuring desperate times called for desperate measures. I pulled out the supplies I salvaged before. Some buffout, jet, mentats, med-x, and psycho. . . these raiders were living the high life before I came.  
I used them all.  
I felt the pain ease from my shoulder and leg as a warm glow spread from the needle. A red haze blurred my vision and I felt angrier, but I knew how to handle that.   
Time seemed to slow down as I got up and ran. My first shot killed the sniper, my second and third killed his back up.  
My fourth shot missed but it didn't matter anymore as I tore the machete off my leg and hacked at the last man.  
None of them was Tork.  
The rest were inside I figured so I got in place at the door, I kicked it down and readied my pistol.  
It was quiet.  
I wanted to find more, more to kill.  
I needed to kill them.

Then I heard a voice.

"Well aren't you a fucking thorn in the side?" I heard coming from inside, I recognized Tork’s voice. "All I wanted was to make this shithole a better place. To bring order to the Chaos!"  
I drew in a sharp breath, his madness was all too familiar to me.  
"I've known people like you." I yelled back, trying to find a safe path to flank him. "People who figure that the world would be better for their ideals so they bring madness on people, in the name of a fucking myth.' I saw some cover and quickly rolled to it, bullets flying just over my head. I counted three of them with Tork in the middle.  
"Hard things have to be done! Choices have to be made!" Tork yelled at me angrily.  
I couldn't see what was going on but I heard footsteps to my side. I readied my gauss pistol.  
BAMF!!   
My shot took a raider in the face. He was trying to circle close to me, His mistake. I didn't see the other circling around the other side until I heard the sound of popcorn and pain in my back. I turned and fired at him. A red flower blossomed on his chest. I could feel it though. The bullets punctured one of my lungs.  
Now there was one.

"Why don't you come fight me instead of letting your men die for you. Or are you too much of a coward to fight an old man?" I coughed out, it was hard to breath, like every breath was coming through a straw.  
"I don't normally enjoy violence, but I'm going to enjoy killing you, you old fuck." I heard Tork call back.  
He sounded angry.  
Good, I thought as I smiled, Coughing blood as I tried to breathe.  
I checked my ammo. I only had one shot left.  
I hoped the Chems would hold me out just long enough to kill this bastard, but I could feel my vision start to swim and blacked around the edges.  
Just a few more minutes I thought to myself.  
I pulled myself to my feet.  
I didn't hear the bullets, but I felt them as I lined up my shot.  
However I heard the lst one as Tork's face contorted rapidly, changing from rage to fear to a bloody mess.  
And then it was over.   
I limped into that room coughing blood. I barely could hold the machete as I cut Lady Fulton's bonds, but I realised I was too late as her corpse slumped out of the chair.   
Pain and fear and frustration overwhelmed me and I cried, weeping and choking on blood. I found this terminal and well, that's where I am now.  
If you find me, please give me a good burial.  
All I wanted was a simple life.  
Sergeant Arch Dornan, now Allistair Dorne Signing off.


End file.
